Although many in the west have complained about the fighters we've had in 2014 it does seem that we've all been happy with the KO's we've had with KO of the Year being one of the most hotly debated around the world. The contenders have varied almost by the publication but that's due to sheer number of great KO's we've seen this year. Some have been brutal, some have been beautiful and some have just had us sitting, staring and mouthing “wow”.

Due to the number of contenders it does seem fitting to share a small of our runners up, and trust us we could have doubled this list with no real problem.

Runners up:Kongfah CP Freshmart (Vs Sangthong Chor Pakdee)-Possibly the most visually pleasing KO of the year was scored by Thailand's Kongfah CP Freshmart back on August 29th. Kongfah, a teenager from Thailand that some are tipping for major success, landed a single short right uppercut on Sanghtong who dropped to his knees before falling face first. He quickly got attention from his trainer who tried to revive him though for a few a moments the scenes were worrying. Aesthetically this was our favourite though when we consider the level of the men involved we understand why it's not being mentioned internationally but it really was gorgeous to watch back.

Rey Loreto (Vs Nkosinathi Joyi)- Filipino fighter Rey Loreto was a relative unknown going into 2014. He had scored a notable win over Pornsawan Porpramook at the end of 2013 but was still an unheralded fighter going into the year. He changed all of that on February 1st when he iced highly touted South African Nkosinathi Joyi. The bout was seen as a huge mismatch in favour of Joyi who was looking to have a big 2014. Instead Joyi found himself staring up at the ceiling after Loreto landed a monster of counter left hook that left Joyi flat on his back. This was brutal and a huge surprise.

WinnerThis tough category really was a toss up though we settled on something that seemed to combine everything. It had beauty and brutality, skills, timing and came at a high level against a former world champion in what was viewed a very even looking bout on paper. The KO in question was that scored by Marvin Sonsona against Akifumi Shimoda on February 22nd in Macau. The bout was for the WBO International Featherweight title and ended in what could only be deemed spectacular fashion. The contest had started slowly as both men tried to warm to the task at hand and just as it seemed like Shimoda was beginning to find his way he was popped with a perfect left uppercutt that just crumpled Shimoda who was never going to beat the count.

For a few moments it seemed like Shimoda could be in a bad way though thankfully the Japanese fighter did recover, though sadly he hasn't fought since.